The influence of magnetic field on fatigue and mechanical properties of a 35crmo steel

The influence of a magnetic field of 1.2–1.3 T on the variation of the fatigue behaviors and the mechanical properties of a 35CrMo steel after fatigue tests are investigated in this paper, in order to provide a basic guidance on the application in the similar environment of electrical machinery or vehicles. The microstructures of samples tested with and without magnetic fields are observed and analyzed by XRD, SEM, and TEM techniques. The fatigue life cycles are slightly increased by about 10–15% under magnetic field of 1.2–1.3 T according to the experimental results. A small increment of yield strength under fatigue life cycles of 10,000, 50,000, and 100,000 times is caused by the magnetic field, although the enhancement is only of 5–8 MPa. The dislocation density of the specimen is increased and the uniformity of dislocations is improved by magnetic fields applied during fatigue tests under the same load and cycles. The formation of micro-defects or micro-cracks will be postponed by the improvement in homogeneity of the material, leading to the increase of mechanical properties. The strengthening mechanisms such as deformation hardening and dislocation hardening effects are enhanced by the dislocation entangled structures and the higher density caused by magnetic field.